The kinetic beauty of spicy hops grabs you by the nose and lets you know: this is German-inspired beer. A mild, bready malt sweetness greets you at the lips, smoothing the crisp hop flavors. Flywheel is meant for bombastic celebrations of singing voices and clamoring mugs. But then, that first contented moment of happy hour is uniquely celebratory as well.

Reviews by malcontent:

Nice golden hue although the huge level of chill haze detracts from what should be a bright (hey, it's even named for it!), vibrant liquid. Head is minimal.

Bread with honey, hint of tree fruit (apricots? in a lager?!?), barely any trace of noble hops. Smell decent but not exactly what I'm looking for.

Man, this yeast is just way too fruity for a lager, especially a German-inspired one at that. Hops are at least present on the palate but there's a weird, doughy effect through the interplay of the yeast and metallic hop twinge.

Mouthfeel is appropriate but I'm just not seeing this as a go-to session lager. I was really hoping for something more because a) I love trumpeting all things Chicago and b) new session beers (and local ones at that) are hard to come by. Oh, well, it wasn't bad enough for me not to give the brewery another shot. (850 characters)

More User Reviews:

It pours a really pale crystal clear straw color. A two finger bright white head tops the beer. An intricate layer of lacing is left behind on the glass walls.

The nose is nice and crisp with hints of pilsner grains and some yeast. It's a great crisp smell and I'm digging it.

With the flavor there is a lot of crisp bready/grain flavors with an nice spicy addition either from some hops or the yeast. It's pretty full bodied and creamy for a light lager and I'm really liking that. This beer instantly reminded me of something I would like to drink while sitting outside in the summer. A really well made lager. (684 characters)

Clear golden and bubbly, thin but sticky lace from a moderate-sized head. Grassy, doughy malt nose, fresh with an herbal and berry hop edge. Clean and crisp with a well-toned, moderate-sized body. Graininess comes in strong but clean, with a light biscuity character. Hop bitterness is aggressive but not boisterous; a bit of oily resin and a lot of fresh herbal flavors. Clean palate throughout. Pleasing dry finish that begs for the next sip. Spot-on for style and extremely drinkable, this is a Pilsner to seek out for sure. (585 characters)

Slightly hazy yellow-orange pour with a nice full inch of creamy white bubbly head on top. Good retention. Aromas of crisp pale malts mingling with spicy, somewhat grassy hops. A bit of an earthy cereal accent as well. Pretty clean and balanced.

First sip brings crisp malts and cereal accents that moves into spicy, grassy hops with some earthy flavors as well. Mild bitterness on the finish. Mellow.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with stable carbonation. Goes down easy and refreshing. A pretty tasty pilsener that would work well on a hot summer day or after mowing the lawn, but not something I would actively seek out. I look forward to seeing what else Metropolitan brews up in the future. (700 characters)

Pours a clear gold with some pure white foam.The nose is lots of biscuit and warm bread, a little bit of spice and maybe a hint of citrus?Good tasting brew with nice, bready malts, a little sweetness, some spice and a hint of lemon.Mouthfeel is medium, crisp and clean.Overall, I wouldn't mind drinking a couple of these. (325 characters)

(Served in a flute) A- The crystal clear copper hued body has a lumpy snow-white head that last for a long while. There is a slow moving sea of microbubbles that glide to the surface. S- The soft clean flinty aroma has notes of raw grain and a faint herbal greenness in the finish. T- The slightly sweet hint finishes with a smooth blend of sulfur and spicy green hops. As the beer opens up there is a carbonic acid note and a green cinnamon quality to the hops. There is a very light tartness to the hops aswell. M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a clean fizz and no alcohol heat. D- This beer has some nice subtle complexity and is very crisp and easy to drink. This is a good session beer especially in the warm months. (733 characters)

As far as lagers go this one is very pretty. A strong straw yellow with a tough head that rises cleanly above the beer. Very unclean as it crashes back into the liquid, leaving coral shaped lace all over the glass.

The nose is crisp but not very compelling. It's mostly grain but has hints of fruit that point towards the off flavors of a beer fermented too high a temp. Not the crisp, clean beers I've come to enjoy on several trips to Germany.

The taste redeems the smell with a nice hoppy bite and clean malt flavor. Slightly grassy hops with a hints of lemon and honey praise the sweet grains.

The finish is dry and peppery, which is a nice change from the sweet crisp start. Light bodied and simple. Very nice but that is all. (734 characters)

I love to support my Chicago beers but this to me is just bad. Tastes like a dirty bowl of Corn Flakes with a dash of bad Market Day bread. Very good look and mouthfeel for the style. Nice two fingers of clear white and clingy head but I will never order this again. Can't deal with the rusty corn, sorry. (305 characters)

A-Pours a hazy neon yellow color, not a lot of head and it settles to a fine layer. Off white lacing coats the glass as I sip. Pretty hazy for a lager I might add too.

S-Lemon, hay, soil like. I have to go searching for this. Nothing really pops out at me.

T-Uneventful. The flavors are fighting. This reminds me of a witbier when I take a sip then this annoying flat bitterness clashes with it. It is bitter just to be bitter. I get some hints of lemon in the background. The bitterness does not harmonize with any of the other flavors.

Ok, I hate to be negative about a beer, especially a local one as I live in Chicago.

The appearance is nothing to write home about...

There is really no smell whatsoever, unless you really dig deep.

And the taste is really REALLY BLAND AND BORING. Starts out with a virtually non existent malt character, ( where is the cracker and bread like character that everyone on here is mentioning ). Maybe some slight hints of grass and hay, but thats about it. The Hop flavor is very muted, ( extract maybe )Nahh but it sure taste like it. And a bitter finnish that just does not have any counterpoints to reference it.

All in all, a very lackluster beer. And this is coming from a guy that loves Pilseners and lagers. It kind of reminds me, and a friend of a dumbed down Bitburger pils. And at $9.99 a sixer, definately a deal breaker. Do not waste youre money. There are way too many better Lagers out there. Hell, I'll even take a PBR over this.... Sorry...

Oh and I almost forgot, I recently tried a Krankshaft Kolsh on tap at a local bar and that was not very impressive either.

I do wish this Husband and Wife couple the best of luck, and their going to need it with their current lineup.

I'm really sorry but again, I do not know where all of these great reviews came from. And I hate to be a naysayer about a beer, but this is really no better than some adjunct Lagers.

I will have to stick with Victory, Capital and Lakefront for my German Lager fix... (1,465 characters)

Appearance: Excellent white foam and superb lacing. Very bubbly. Murky golden, very unique for a pilsener. Top of the line look.

Smell: Mostly lemon with a hint of pine. Fairly subdued, but refreshing.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Excellent lemon crispness provides a good mouthfeel. Smooth finish. Flavors consist of a hint of lemon tartness initially and strong pine hops in the finish. The finish in particular sneaks up on you.

Was at Ben Pao"s (Chicago) the other night, interviewing a candidate for a job. They had this beer available so I says...why not!!! Bonus points to the interviewee who tried it as well. This beer was cloudy golden with white head a decent lacing. not much on the nose. The taste was OK nothing great. I would not consider this a typical pilsner...not like a Becks or Urquel....something different. The mouth feel was ok. I could session this...but would prefer not too. Not sure I would order it again. (502 characters)

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a 20oz mug. This was bottled today, about three or four hours ago.

This beer pours a bright clear pale yellow with tons of cascading bubbles that form two fingers of white head that sticks around for most of the glass.

The nose is packed with dry bready pale malts, grassy saaz hops, there is a tiny bit of some spicy yeast as well. It's making my mouth water.

The first gulp follows the nose. Tons of slightly sweet cracker and bready malts, grassy spice from the hops. It's very clean as per the style. It finishes a tad dry and leaves me wanting more and more. Very refreshing and the freshness is unbeatable.

Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied. Creamy carbonation up front that leads to some nice bubble bite in the end.

One of the best by the book American made Pils out there. Insanely sessionable and delicious. Thanks Doug and Tracy! (878 characters)

I'd been looking forward to trying this beer and it certainly was interesting (and tasty). I first noted a very cool earthy, mineral German undertone that only a few American brewers seem to be able to match.

Now it's not your standard German pils, or a hopped up US-take on the style. Instead there's that classic German background with softer, floral hops for a easy-to-drink lager that's unlike any other I've tried. Find this beer. (436 characters)